An Electronic Program Guide (EPG), which is also commonly referred to as an Interactive Program Guide (IPG) is an on-screen guide to scheduled broadcast television. An EPG allowing a viewer to navigate, select, and discover content by time, title, channel, genre, etc., by use of their remote control. The technology is based upon broadcasting data to an application usually residing within middleware in a set-top box that connects to a television set and enables the application to be displayed.
Choosing the right EPG is a difficult, time-consuming process for viewers. There are often many different EPG lineups (also referred to as a “television lineup”) for a given postal code. Viewers do not know which EPG will give them the exact lineup they have and often do not have the information they need to make the right choice.
EPG lineups do not map to postal codes. EPG lineups map to geographical regions and are often not named in a way a viewer will understand. For example, a viewer that lives in Renton, Wash. (zip code 98059) and receives television through a cable system may choose between three different Comcast television lineups. Each television lineup includes a different headend: Renton, South King County and Seattle. A viewer likely has no idea which television lineup to chose.